Another question about Bipolar symptoms and treatments?
So i have been going back and forth trying to find out what would help, and my symptoms of whatever i got don’t totally fit the cycle period.
For me i can be extremely happy and then in the SAME DAY without change of anything be extremely mad or depressed. The depression periods can be totally different in lvls as to what some would say “suicidal”. I have talked to about 3 doctors and 3 therapists and most of them (5/6) say i have bipolar disorder but on the other hand the “switch” doesn’t make since. My Happy level can be really high…feel extremely good about myself, very content and pro-active, but not over the top. My anger can get to a point where i have broken 2 nuckles, at least 3 fingers, holes in many walls, have took sledge hammers to bikes and stuff to tire myself out…and much more. Depression periods can be very bad, as this year i only attended 68% of school (so far) as many days there was just no way for me to get out of bed (and days i had to leave before i snapped) ,most times i wished i was dead (excuse was that i built up an ammunity to LEXIPRO 20mg…but from the beginning it never put it away just calmed it a slight bit).
Things this year have been worse than ever…as how its inflicting in my life… (senior year should be happy…) besides missing school for being very depressed, some days when i would go, i just couldn’t concentrate, no control of thoughts, things just rushing like crazy…sometimes it becomes sort of like a dream, so much that i would drive home going 100-120, sometimes hit corners that i shouldn’t have made, close my eyes…just like i wasn’t there… There were and still occasionally are times where i get soo PUMPED? that i feel like i could take anyone, there was like no pain…always want to start fights and its extremely hard to hold it back…EXTREMELY HARD.
well, i really don’t know what to do… when im happy i pray that it stays that way and i do everything i can, but then in the same day i find myself in a 100% different frame of mind, angry at everyone, everything… and just don’t care.
my doctor/ therapist thinks putting me on Bi-Polar meds is bad because he says it would make me like a zombie…and it would be better to try other things.
Im currently on 300mg of Wellbutatain (srry no idea how to spell it) and 20mg of aderall (believed to help me be able to concentrate so it wont get me as angry trying)…ive only taken these for about 1month and 2weeks and it seems to help more than Lexipro but the changes are still there and big enough to control me.
So my questions: Could it be that these meds will clear everything up in time? and i just need to wait?
Do you think that its a form of bipolar disorder or something totally different?
Also is there any bipolar medications that do the job without making you a “zombie” as the therapist put it…?
im pretty lost and have spent all available time seeing people, trying things, and talking on the computer to try to get help… in 6 months im going to be in college, and i want to have this under control by that time….is there a way it could even pass? although moth of my life i have been like this, as long as i can remember.
Tagged with: About • Another • Bipolar • Question • Symptoms • Treatments
Filed under: Bipolar Treatments
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What you are describing is a labile mood, not bipolar. Manic and Depressed episodes have to last a week or 2 weeks in order to meet criteria for bipolar. There are also mixed episodes in which you meet criteria for both mania and depression, but if a person seems to have only mixed episodes, that’s not usually bipolar. Mixed episodes are uncommon. What you may have is atypical depression. This is characterized by depression, irritability, and periods when things cheer you up and you feel fine.
Now I’m not going to say I think the meds will clear it all up. They will probably help. But what’s usually more effective is medication + cognitive behavioral therapy. Ask your doctor to refer you to someone who is qualified to administer this therapy. And bipolar meds will make you feel horrible. People usually don’t like them.
If your therapist really thinks you have bipolar disorder, it is TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE to put you on an antidepressant without a mood stabilizer! And not all bipolar meds make you a zombie either – I only ever had that problem with lithium, and that was only on the 6th try taking it, over the years. If you do get that side effect, you don’t stay on that med, you try another! The bipolar meds often do make you tired, though, and maybe that is his concern. Imo, see a psychiatrist. I think this therapist isn’t handling this right.
When I was breaking things as often as you are, I was taking Ativan. Are you taking any benzos (xanax, ativan, valium, etc) or sleeping meds (ambien, lunesta etc)? They can cause aggressive behavior in many people! And the docs will just tell you it’s the bipolar, but for me, it wasn’t – since I got off Ativan, it is unusual for me to break things anymore.
That antidepressant could be destablizing you. Go to bipolarworld.net and click on “ask the doctor” and read what Dr. Phelps has to say. He works with bipolar researchers at Stanford and Harvard, and references everything he says with studies in PubMed, so you can read the original research by clicking on the link. He also wrote a book on bipolar II, the kind where you don’t get the extreme mania, and you can read it for free online.
All the best to you!
PS it is ok to email me for more info if you want.
PPS mixed episodes are more common than most people think. Also, bipolar may present differently in young people. I have to admit, though, when I was your age, I had either hypomania or depression, for months at a time, in the classic way. The mixed moods started when I was older & are now chronic. The definition of bipolar is in a serious state of flux, and the DSM definition doesn’t reflect reality.
it might be spelled wrong it’s called ABILFY it’s a new bi-polar drug Works great for a kid i know ask ur doctors or ask ur phararmist & get a read sheet for side effects,I hope the best for u.U might have to find s differ net doctor that is willing to work with u to help u .It sounds like the ones u mentioned doesn’t want to lose u as their patent but it’s ur health that matters not theirs.PERSONA LY I’d keep looking until I found someone that would help & understand my needs.
Hi,
To cut to the chase, BIPOLAR (as you might already suspect) is simply the new “in” word for Manic Depression where a person cycles between “very big highs” (mania) and “very low Lows” (depression) which is a far wider range than most other peoples – and it lasts for more than a couple of weeks.
Many famous and highly intelligent people have/had manic depression including Sir Winston Churchill, Stephen Fry, Carrie Fisher, Spike Milligan, Ben Stiller, DMX and many others. Managed properly, it can be lived with, and in fact because the “mania” (the highs) are so exhilarating, most manic depressives wouldn’t swap their manic depression for being normal. There are three treatments for Bipolar, and only one of them involves antidepressant drugs. Read on…
I’ve been in fairly hefty senior management positions for around 4 decades and have had up to 500 staff under me at times. I’ve had to deal frequently with many people suffering Depression, so know a little about what you are going through. Depression is far more common than most people think because most people either don’t recognise it or hide it. In fact, I think the stats show that up to one-in-five people suffer from Depression, all over the world. It’s good that you’re getting it out in the open and seeking advice. Just be careful of the myths and here-say, though. A lot of people don’t know what they’re talking about and just seem to make things up as they go along.
Anyhow, to cut to the chase – Nowadays, I produce videos, and last year made a 35-minute DVD presented by a top UK Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Darryl Britto, who is a personal friend of mine, and who wanted to squash all the myths about depression, because he felt that very few people thoroughly understood what it is all about. In the DVD he includes an explanation of the three main treatments available. It’s purposely in simple layperson’s language and aimed at 4 categories of people.
1) Those with Depression,
2) Those who think they may have Depression,
3) Friends and family of those with Depression, and
4) People training in the healthcare sector.
If interested, you can see a FREE PREVIEW on YouTube at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce1viJ7zqCU
I also have a Blog at http://business-sage.blogspot.com which has heaps and heaps of useful FREE ADVICE about enhancing your lot in life, which you might be interested in. (Some of it is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.)
Also I’ve include some weblinks below which are of course FREE.
I sincerely hope this information might help you, and that I haven’t given you too much text here – but I felt it important to lever you away from (sometimes) harmful here-say, gossip and myths. You are not alone, you know. Depression is treatable in the majority of cases and it’s truly not as bad as you feel it is – you just need to know the FACTS and what Depression is all about, which then makes it ten times more easy to handle.
Good luck & Cheers
John E